The Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory at the National Assembly, Ireti Kingibe, has formally announced her resignation from the Labour Party and declared her defection to the African Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Friday, Kingibe described her defection as a deliberate and strategic political move.
She revealed that her formal induction into the ADC would be marked by celebration.
She said, “I’m totally and completely committed to ADC.
“But obviously, as the senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, don’t expect me to just take a lunch break and go collect a card. I want to do so with noise and fanfare.”
Kingibe expressed confidence in the leadership of her new party, acknowledging that the ADC is still in its developmental phase.
she explained., “It’s something that is evolving. So you cannot say while your child is still crawling that you are not happy with how he’s going to run. You wait. We are growing.”
Addressing the possibility of losing her Senate seat over the defection to ADC, Ireti Kinigbe argued that the existence of two distinct factions within the Labour Party justifies her move under constitutional provisions.
“I ask you to please read the constitution. There are two factions — clear factions — of Labour Party. The perfect definition that the constitution gives for somebody to decamp without penalty applies in this case,” she stated.
She cited that even the Independent National Electoral Commission had received two sets of results and candidates from the LP during elections, further validating her claim.
“Even INEC got two sets of results and candidates, though they didn’t accept any. So if you ask me to stay in Labour Party, which faction do you want me to stay in?”, she said.
Ireti Kingibe defects to ADC amid growing tensions within the LP, maintaining that her decision aligns with constitutional standards and democratic principles.
She maintained that her defection was both lawful and grounded in her respect for constitutional values.
“If there were not two distinct factions of Labour Party, I would not presume to decamp, because that is unconstitutional. But they are. And this is the definition the constitution gave why it would be okay to decamp to anywhere I wanted to go. I just chose ADC,” she added.
